Kgoale urges Banyana to be strong

Banyana Banyana midfield workhorse Nomvula “Lipstick Lady” Kgoale has told of tough conditions in Nigeria as they gear up to take on the Super Falcons in the first leg of the last round of the Olympic qualifiers.

Banyana and Nigeria will battle it out at the Mko Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Friday (6pm SA time).

The return leg is at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday (7.30pm).

Banyana landed in Nigeria on Sunday and Kgoale has urged her teammates to be mentally strong to deal with their traditional foes, telling how the conditions there are a bit abnormal for them.

“It’s extremely important to be mentally tough. We know that Nigeria are a very tough opponent to play against ... they’ve won Wafcon so many times and they’ve done well at the World Cups as well,” Kgoale said on Monday.

“Back at home, the air is much thinner and over here it’s much heavier but I’ve played in the US for almost six years and I know how to play in this kind of weather ... you almost feel like you are breathing heat.

“The grass is also heavier but I am sure that in two days’ time we would’ve adjusted.”

As Banyana beat Nigeria the last time they met, 2-1 in the group stages of the Wafcon, they went on to win in Morocco in July 2022, Kgoale expects the hosts to gun for revenge.

“We know they will be looking for revenge,” Kgoale said.

Meanwhile, veteran fullback Lebohang Ramalepe described this battle against the Super Falcon as “do or die” particularly because both these powerhouses of women’s football on the continent failed to qualify for the previous Olympics, staged in Tokyo in 2021. 

“Remember both of us [Banyana and Nigeria] missed the last Olympics, so this game is a do-or-die kind of a game,” Ramalepe said.

“This is a new challenge for us and we are not going to dwell much on what happened in our last encounters with Nigeria because we might lose ourselves if we do that.”